All the Instructions

This is the instructions you need to do the paper, it has links of example of formatting, and handout and everything every links it’s important please read carefully. (For your report, you will not need to write an introductory letter, nor will you use bullets or numbering in the report. Your report will be written in full sentences and complete paragraphs)

For your report, you will not need to write an introductory letter, nor will you use bullets or numbering in the report. Your report will be written in full sentences and complete paragraphs. Also, do not use running headings. Here is an example of the format: Formal Report Example of Formatting.docx The report may run as many as 15 pages but no less than 12 pages (generally).

Work diligently on the formal business report. Getting behind may cause you some anxiety. Please follow the directions for this assignment as follows.

Step One:

You will need Excel and Word to complete this assignment.
In order for the formal report to be a convincing document, you must become quasi-subject matter experts (SMEs) on the topic of wage discrimination. Read and study the case FORMALREPORT_handout_Sum1_2012.docx . Put this document in a folder on your personal computer titled INFS 351 formal report; then put all newly created documents associated with this assignment in this folder. Be sure to back up all work. Emailing the document to yourself is a good backup method.
This report will be written in American Psychological Association (APA) style — the preferred style in business reports. APA style is also provides a standard by which readers (your audience) can follow more easily.

You must use three peer-reviewed articles. What is a peer-reviewed article? Peer-reviewed articles have passed through a review process three or four experts in the field. The review process helps ensure that the published articles reflect solid scholarship in a particular field. The content of peer-reviewed articles is credible, so that helps the writer project to the reader credibility. (Wage Discrimination Style Unique In Technology Industries Knoxville And Nashville Plants)
UTM’s library is the best place to start your article research http://www.utm.edu/library.php. Select the Electronic Databases link, select the EBSCO icon, and at this point you may need to enter your user name and password. This is my user(saubins) and password (s4275028S) you can just used so you can access. Next, select the Business Source Premier check box and Continue. Key in “wage discrimination” in the textbox. Other search phrases are:
Wage discrimination
Gender wage discrimination
Wage gap
Wage discrimination laws
Lilly Ledbetter Act
Fair Pay
Equal Pay
Pay inequity
Paycheck Fairness Act
US EEOC
Scroll to find the Limits your results section. Check Scholarly (Peer Reviewed ) Journals. Then notice to the right, Published Date from. You want recent articles published in the last five or six years, so key in 2007 to 2012. Now select Search. Some articles may not be full text. You may need to go back to select Full Text. Oftentimes you can find all the information you need in the Abstract.
Choose three (3) peer-reviewed articles. As you read and study the articles, think how you can cite in the content of your report various pieces of information that are relevant to your study. Look for ways to begin to address the problem of wage discrimination in big companies and manufacturers (Wal-Mart, Target, GoodYear).
To avoid plagiarism, always cite author’s ideas, thoughts, studies, etc. TAKE GOOD NOTES as you read, because you will use this information in the content of your formal report. BE SURE TO get reference information, for example, authors last name, first initial, date of article, name of article, name of journal,volume and issue numbers of journal, and finally, page numbers. Also, the library offers another way to format APA style references. Note, after you select the article, notice in the right pane for a Cite icon. If you use this, be sure the reference is correctly formatted.

For this assignment DO NOT QUOTE! You will paraphrase or summarize information, ideas, and thoughts that belong to others. This is a quasi-extemporaneous writing assignment in which you must write from your own thoughts rather than cut and paste quotes. You will learn more when you read and paraphrase than if your simply quote. Paraphrase means to put in your own words what you understand the content to mean. Use only your own words.
An example of a paraphrased in-text citation might be, Smith (2009) reported wage discrimination is on the rise. Then list Smith’s article, using APA style, on the Reference page of your report.

Wage discrimination is illegal; therefore, companies must be diligent about beginning a process to resolve the problem. Wage discrimination occurs among females and males; however, research indicates that women who work full time earn, on average, 77 cents for every dollar that men earn. One reason is that females fail to negotiate for better wages and benefits as they approach the job market. Research the $tart $mart program through the AAUW site for more information. You can search the National Organization for Women (NOW) to learn more.

Step Two

Run, analyze, and interpret the data.
Run three t-Tests using Excel spreadsheet. First, you will compare female and male wages at the Knoxville plant. Second, compare female and male wages at the Nashville plant. Third, compare female and male wages at both plants combined — a total of 60.
Learn how to run t-Tests by viewing the video Knoxville t-Test.mp4 (NOTE: In the video, headers for variables of male and female are reversed. Be sure to correct this on your t-Test table.). Or, follow these detailed steps to organize the data and run the t-Tests in Excel 2007 or 2010 spreadsheet. To begin, cut and paste into Excel the table of Random sample of 60 line employees (30 from each plant) with 3 years of service (find in FORMAL REPORT.docx). IMPORTANT: Look for an error in the raw data? You must address this problem in the formal report. Be sure to verify with HR, and ask them to correct the problem.
Sort Data
1. Select all three columns of data (not the headings). Then select the Sort & Filter option in the Editing section of the Home tab in the Word ribbon. Sort A to Z. This process separates the coded 1 plant (Knoxville) from the coded 2 plant (Nashville). Keep all three columns selected.
2. Sort using Custom Sort and sort by column B, A to Z. This process separates the female wages from the male wages so that female wages are at the top of the spreadsheet, male wages are at the bottom.
Note: We always want to reject the null hypothesis, “There is no wage discrimination.” The alpha level is the risk level. In this case, we use 0.05; in other words, 5 times out of 100, statistical significant difference occurs between the means. Therefore, if the p-value is less than the alpha, we accept the null. In the case of the Knoxville plant, there is no statistical significance. In the Nashville plant study and the overall study, there is a statistical significance. The difference is significant enough to state that wage discrimination exists at SUIT Industries.
Analyze Data
3. In Excel spreadsheet, assuming the Analyses Toolpak is added, it will be located in the Data tab, Analysis section. The Data Analysis dialog box lists a number of statistical tools. Scroll to find t-Test: Two-sample Assuming Unequal Variances. We have two samples, male and female wages, and the samples are unequal and vary. Click OK. Dialog box appears.
4. Notice the Input Variable 1 Range and Variable 2 Range. Select the Variable 1 Range. The box will shrink so that you can see your spreadsheet. Now, go to the Current Wage column, select C4 through C18 (all the female wages for Knoxville = 1). Be sure to select ONLY the wages column. Notice Variable 1 Range will read $C$4:$C$18 in the text box.
5. Repeat this step in the second range, the male wages at the Knoxville plant. Variable 2 Range should contain $C$34:$C$48.
The alpha level defaults to 0.05. The alpha level set at 0.05 let’s us state with 95 percent confidence that the null hypothesis will be rejected. Click OK. Notice the results appear on another sheet, generally Sheet 4.
Arrange the columns for good eye appeal. Rekey the column heading “Variable 1” to “Female Wages” and “Variable 2” to “Males Wages.” (NOTE: In the video, variable headings are reversed.) On that same row above Mean, key the title: Knoxville Gender/Wage Comparison. Key in the conclusion in cell A14: Reject the null in favor of the alternative hypothesis; males statistically have a higher wage than females. Finally, highlight A10 [P(T<=t) one-tail] and B10 [0.077674838] with a very pale color – best for viewing. Use a different color for each t-Test.THIS IS THE IMPORTANT VALUE — the p-value. Round it to p = 0.077.
In Excel format the t-Test tables exactly the same (but use different pastel colors). Frame and center the three t-Tests, then cute and paste into your Word document. All will fit on one page; you may need to shrink the tables. The three t-Tests page is the second part of the Appendices. The first part of the Appendices will be the data after you’ve sorted (manipulated) it.

The ability to compose a quality research report is powerful in business today.

1. Charts: While in the pre-writing stage, and from the t-Tests in Excel, create a chart by selecting B3 through C4 [or select the titles of “Female” and “Male” and the (2) wage means] (four cells in all), select the Insert tab and Charts section, and choose a 2-D bar chart or any bar chart that works. A chart appears. Now, notice the ribbon across the top, you will have a contextual tab called Chart Tools. It will only be viewable when you have the chart selected. This contextual tab contains a Design tab, a Layout tab and a Format tab.
To add a chart title, use the Layout tab. Shrink the chart area by clicking into the center of the chart box, notice the handles. Grab the top handle and drag it down to make space for the chart title. Now, select the Layout tab in the contextual Chart Tools tab. Here you will find the Labels section. Choose Chart Title drop down list, choose Centered Overlay Title. Key in Knoxville. Add a title below by selecting the Axis Titles drop down list, Primary Horizontal Axis Title and Title Below Axis. In the textbox, key in Wages.
When you’ve formatted your chart to look the way you like, cut and paste the chart to a Word document and center the chart on the page. Remember, all chart/figures must be the same size. This chart will be placed in the Findings section. The Knoxville chart, now called Figure 1 should look something like this:Figure1.docx
2. Procedures: Begin the writing process with the Procedures section. Why write the Procedures first? The reader determines if your research is credible by the manner in which you’ve handled the data. If data is mishandled, the findings are useless. While the data analysis process is fresh in your mind, tell the reader exactly how you manipulated/sorted the data. A way to do this is create a list of the data analysis steps in the order in which they occurred. How did you receive the data? Answer: For example, through encrypted email. What did it look like when you received it? How did you manipulate the data? What analysis tool did you use to calculate the t-Tests? Think of every step, but do not tell the reader unimportant tasks such color coding, for example. Do discuss how the data were (was) coded (1 for Nashville and 2 for Knoxville) and how the males and females were coded (M and F). Play the role of HR manager. Keep your reader in mind as you write — so important! And always write with no reference to yourself. Be an unbiased researcher and let the facts make the point for you. <–This is a final exam question.The strategy is to avoid using personal pronouns.
The hypothesis states that wage discrimination is present at SUIT. The null hypothesis states that no wage discrimination is present at SUIT.
3. Findings: Next write the Findings. The Findings will consist of two parts. The first part can be the charts, which will be identified as Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 3, and the second part can be the t-Test findings, or vise versa.
Each figure must be the same size, but they can be different pastel colors that coincide with the t-Test tables. Introduce each figure by explaining the contents, but avoid any explanation. For example, state the amount of each mean and the difference. State other content information you deem necessary. Do not stack the figures one after another, because in this way they become meaningless. But do introduce each one and refer to the figures anywhere in the document as needed.
In the Knoxville plant study, although not significant, a 10 cent difference exists. In the Nashville plant study, a significant statistical difference exists. You’ll need to include the difference here too. Run the t-Test to determine the findings for the company-wide (overall) study? Look at your p-value and ask, “Is the p-value less than the alpha level (0.05)?” If the answer is no, reject the null hypothesis; if the answer is yes, accept the null.
Avoid using directional phrases such as “below (or above) find Figure 1.” Instead introduce the Figures this way: “Presented in Figure 1 is the…”
t-Test findings can be presented by simply stating the p-value and alpha level for each of the three studies.The hypothesis does not need to be stated unless you feel it is important. Sometimes CEOs are smart and may feel insulted if you state the hypothesis. They always look for that p-value because that tells them immediately what they need to know.
All information must be presented in full sentences and paragraphs. No bullets or numbered items can be used for this report.
4. Results: Explain to the reader what these numbers mean? Do not repeat the numbers, but do mention where wage discrimination actually occurrs. As mentioned in Step 3, there was no statistical significant difference between male and female wages at the Knoxville plant; however, at the Nashville plant and company-wide, wage discrimination is evident. Write about the Knoxville plant results, the Nashville plant results and overall results in the same order in which they appear in the Findings.
5. Conclusions: What do the results mean for the company in terms of legal issues and repercussions for the company? We call this ripple effects. Some of your secondary sources of peer-reviewed articles will help here.
6. Recommendations: Use your researched peer-reviewed articles to help solve the problem of wage discrimination at SUIT. How can you suggest ways to equalize the wage differences among males and females? What did GoodYear, Walmart, Target, and Georgia manufacturers claim to do? SUIT needs to examine its wage practices to determine a better way to pay its workers. You might check out the Equal Pay Act, Lilly Ledbetter, and others.
Be careful how you offer recommendations.The company can only begin to remedy this problem, because the process of recovery will take time. A company cannot just increase wages instantly based on this finding.
When an employer is found to be paying female employees less than male employees for equal work, the employer may assert an “affirmative defense” that the pay differential is based on a factor other than gender. Give the reader hope by looking at the problem with the premise of opportunity for the company to improve.
7. Introduction: Who is the company and what are its products. Introduce the company as if your reader knows nothing about the company. In this way the document can “stand alone.” Anyone who reads the document will be able to learn about the basics of the company.
8. The Problem Statement: What is their problem? Be careful to avoid your beliefs, attitudes, and feelings to be forced upon the reader. Tell the reader EXACTLY what you know, nothing more. This section can be two or three sentences.
9. Executive Summary: Do not indent the first paragraph in this section.
This is the area in which most errors occur. Oftentimes students neglect the importance of the Executive Summary. If you’ve read this far, you will get a secret about how to write this section. Take the topic sentence from each section and string them together. Rephrase the sentences so that no redundancy in wording occurs. Please do not cut and paste a sentence and leave it as is. Reword so no redundancy occurs. Add transitions so that the information flows well. You can include the p-values for a more detailed summary; however, it will be only a few paragraphs and approximately three quarters of a page of content. Now you know the secret. 😉
Do not put each section on a separate page. The body of the document is consecutively numbered; avoid white space. The actual layout of the body of the document begins with the Introduction and ends with the Recommendations. A list of each part is as follows:
1. Title page
2. Executive Summary (Page ii)
3. Table of Contents and Table of Figures (all on one page) (Page iii)
4. Introduction (begin Page 1 and number the following sequentially)
5. Problem Statement – What is their problem?
6. Procedures – How was the data received and how was the data handled?
7. Findings – Figures and t-Test numbers
8. Results – What do the numbers tell us?
9. Conclusions – What does this mean for the company?
10. Recommendations – How is this problem going to be solved?
11. References (start on new page, but continue numbering)
12. Appendices (Appendix #1 = wage data; Appendix #2 = t-Tests) (Start on new page, but continue numbering.)
Here is what the format will look like (much more or no less in length): Formal Report Example of Formatting(1)(4).docx

A fragment is a fatal error and will require you to rewrite with no greater than a 69 percent. However, a lower score may occur if you make more errors on the rewrite.

Write in third-person, past tense. Avoid using personal pronouns such as I, you, we, them, me, us, etc. In formal report writing, the convention is to write with minimal reference to yourself. You want to project an unbiased research attitude.
Your report should have good “eye appeal.” Be sure to indent paragraphs 1/2 inch, use your Tab key rather than the space bar. The entire document is double spaced, not triple. Spacing should be consistent all through the report.
Persuasion is an important element in report writing, and neatness helps to persuade.
Things to avoid:
1. Running headings
2. Your opinions
3. Any bias
4. Doubt
5. Ridicule
6. Accusations
7. Bullets and numbering
8. I, you, we, us, or any use of first person
I will be looking for precision writing. Here is an APA number rule link: http://APA Number Rules.pdf